Eden
by Velociceratops
Summary: Ayato Naoi finds himself once again in the underworld, but this time, he has new people to spend his time with. Particularly Kyo Sohma, a secretive boy with a quick temper, and Dahlia, a mysterious girl who has become the new "Otonashi" of her Eden.
1. The Prologue

-SPOILER ALERT- :D

For both Angel Beats and Fruits Basket, because, at last minute, I decided to throw in random important crap into a chapter.

This story is set after the main plot of Angel Beats, but before Fruits Basket, just to clear things up!

Don't infringe me for copyright, 'cause i don't own nothing.

Update: Within month of September

Onto the story :)

Ayato Naoi checked his phone as he walked to the bus stop near his school. At sixteen, he felt free to do anything as a gentle breeze wafted through his dark, green-tinged hair, his brown eyes sparkling. He frowned.

"No new messages… Hmm…"

He muttered to himself as he put the cell in his back pocket of his jeans and adjusted his dark blue t-shirt. He glanced up and down the street and, when satisfied the bus wasn't coming, looked at some of the stores around the four-way street. Across the street was a store that caught his eye.

"'10-Q-L-L-ANGEL'. Sounds interesting."

He considered going in as a tall boy with red-ish hair went to get the attention a silver haired girl. He watched the exchange with interest and he felt a strange tug in the pit of his stomach. He felt as if he knew the two, and as he was about to go speak to the pair, the bus pulled up in front of him. He continued to watch the two, realization spread across the girls face and she hugged the boy. "Hey kid! Are you getting on, or what?" The bus driver's called startled Ayato.

"Oh… Yes, sorry." He said, trying to smile as he walked up the steps and scanned his pass.

The bus doors creaked closed and the vehicle began to move. He looked out the window and watched the pair fading in the distance, and his breathe caught in his throat as he surveyed the packed bus.

He had developed a problem with small, packed places when he was a little boy.

He sucked it up, and looked for an open seat, and found one next to a tall, thin boy with oddly orange hair. He had a slightly sour expression on his face as he brooded and he wore a simple tan coloured t-shirt and ripped jeans. Ayato took the seat next to him and smiled, attempting to be pleasant with his bus mate.

Ayato had a 30-minute ride to visit his grandfather, so he thought it would be better to have a positive trip.

Despite the fact that the boy was ignoring Ayato, he felt strangely compelled to make conversation with him.

"I wonder why the bus is so packed today." He said, trying to sound as friendly as possible.

The boy looked at him as if he just suggested they all go drive off a cliff.

"I'm Ayato, by the way, Ayato Naoi." He offered his hand to the boy, who just stared at it.

"I'm Kyo Sohma." Kyo said gruffly.

"That's a nice name… Where are you headed?"

"Martial arts class. It's 20 minutes from where you got on."

'So we are going to be here a while.' Ayato thought. "Oh, that's nice. I'm going to visit my grandfather. He's finally decided to teach me pottery. No one in my family really knows how to anymore, except for him…"

Kyo just stared at him.

"What?" Ayato asked.

"Nothing, just… How old are you?" Kyo's expression was scrutinizing.

"I'm sixteen. Why do you ask?" He said, proudly.

"You're a little short to be sixteen…"

"Wha- No I'm not!" Ayato yelled, caught off guard. "I just haven't hit my growth spurt yet!"

"Hmph." Kyo grunted.

"I'm not that sho-…!" Ayato began, but was unable to finish as a hit from behind knocked the two out of their seats, tangling them awkwardly on the floor.

"GET OFF ME!" Kyo yelled trying to stand up.

The bus spun wildly, passengers we screaming and bystanders watched in terror as it crashed straight into a building, killing everyone on it instantly.

End of Prologue

Welcome back! :3

Anyway, No. There was no logical explanation for the crash, for I have no idea how a bus crash would work... (I suck at physics)

Yea...

Please review, or criticize. Whatever, I don't mind.

Point out typos if you want,

I'm just happy with myself for I have FINALLY posted this.

~NTYBR92


	2. Chapter 1 Awakening

**Hallo! How are you? Oh, I'm fine!**

**Disclaimer: I OWN NOTHING!**

**Update within: November 2011**

Ayato awoke lying in a field of grass. The air smelled familiar to him, but its origin wasn't present in his mind. He sat up and looked around. He was on the grounds of what appeared to be a private school, with several out buildings and playing fields. It all seemed so familiar, but different at the same time. Then it hit him.

"Oh no!" Ayato said standing up quickly. "No, no, no, no, no! This- This isn't happening!" He scanned the grounds a second time, as if something would prove him wrong, but it all came back to him.

Ayato had come back to the Underworld.

He began to pace, talking to himself. "Something just went wrong! Yes, that's it! Otonashi, Yuri, Hinata and Kanade are still in the gymnasium, obviously in tears because of my departure. All I have to do is head back and-." He stopped mid-sentence, for he had stepped on something large. He looked down and saw a boy.

"Get off of me!" The boy exclaimed, pushing Ayato's foot off his face, and stood up.

"I'm sorry! I didn't realize you were there." Ayato said. "I am Ayato Naoi. And you are?"

The boy just stared at him. "I'm Kyo? Kyo SOHMA?" Kyo shook his head at Ayato's lack of response.

"Where the hell are we, anyway?" Kyo asked, looking around.

"We're in the underworld, home of the previously disbanded Battle Front." He gestured around.

"Very funny. How did you get me here, wherever we are, and how did you fake that bus crash?"

"Bus crash?" Ayato said, confused. He couldn't remember any bus; he hadn't even met Kyo before now.

"Yeah… Don't you remember? Maybe I'm going crazy…"

"Unless…" Ayato began. Tears welled up in his eyes. "No! This isn't happening!" Ayato sunk to the ground. "I've failed you, Otonashi… All of your hard work, and I still end up coming back here… I can't even remember why I'm here to try and leave my emotions by myself… Otonashi… I'm sorry…" Ayato wept silently.

"Who's Otonashi?" Kyo asked.

"Otonashi was a great man. He helped everyone in the Battlefront pass on from this life, to be reborn in the next… I've failed him by returning here, even after he helped me so much!"

Both boys turned their heads as crunching leaves signaled an approaching figure.

"Otonashi?" Ayato asked, hopefully.

"No, sorry! It's just little old me." A tall, blonde girl with a light blue backpack and gold, bottomless rimmed glasses came tromping through the brush. "I don't usually get so many of you in one day… Who are you two?"

Kyo was silent and Ayato wiped his face and said "This is Kyo Sohma, and I'm Ayato Naoi."

The girl's blue-grey eyes widened at Ayato's name. "What?"

"You don't have to worry about us, Miss. After all-." He sniffed, "I am God."

The girl gasped. "You- You're Ayato Naoi of battlefront, aren't you? Vice President... thing? Hypnotist?"

Ayato nodded slowly. "Yes… I am."

"Oh my gosh!" She said, deliberately not using the word "God", "You two have to come with me! Now!" She grabbed their hands and dragged them towards the school entrance, and began to introduce herself. "I'm Dahlia. Welcome to my "Eden". A world I have expanded and changed." She smiled back at them. "I'm surprised you look so much like your description, although I imagined you would be taller."

"See." Kyo stated.

"I was a bit surprised when I overheard you talking about Yuzuru and Battlefront. Almost no one here knows all that much about them."

"Wait!" Ayato said as he pulled his hand from her grasp. "I'm confused. How do you know about Battlefront, and Otonashi's first name? How could you know these things?"

"Just come!" She said with a chuckle and grabbed his hand to continue pulling him along.

She led them into the school, through the halls, until they entered a room that said "Principal's Office".

"Sit." Dahlia said, pointing to the chairs, taking one for herself as well.

"The first thing you _need _to know is why I'm here, but I can't tell you that yet. You two are special, or at least Ayato is. I'm not sure about you Kyo, but you're here anyway, so whatever." She stared at him, and he turned away.

"Anyway, don't bother asking why I'm here, I haven't told anyone other than my-." She paused as a beeping echoed through the room.

"What's that?" Ayato asked.

"My tablet…" Dahlia said, pulling her backpack off her shoulder and rummaging through it. She eventually pulled a black piece of plastic and glass, with stickers on the back, and tapped it a few times.

"Oh, goddammit!" She exclaimed. "Richard!" She scoffed, and shoved the tablet back into her bag. Her expression changed from the happy-go-lucky look she had worn the entire trip from the grounds to the office, to one that showed she was clearly pissed off.

"Who's Richard?"

"He was my assistant, who I was about to mention, speak of the devil… He decides to pass on the day we get the most newcomers we've at one time in my entire time being here… Damn it!" She kicked at the table. "… Ouch…" She sat down and nurtured her aching foot.

"Anyway, to my story. I've been here for… a while… and the first day I came here, I was very confused. I had no one to guide me, like everyone after me did, and I spent most of my time playing it by ear. I had discovered this room after about a week of exploring, and I found this." She opened a closet by the door, and showed them a large collection of about 25 or more laptops. "I decided to open them, one by one, and discovered that each one held bits and pieces of the history of the Battle Front. Some examples are, you know, info on Kanade, slash, Angel, various members…" She pulled out four different laptops.

"These are my favorites." She put them on the coffee table and spread them out.

"Hey! That's mine!" Ayato said, prodding a grey one.

"Yes. Yes it is. As you know, it contained information on hypnotism, like, how to learn it and what to use it for." Dahlia said, speaking mainly to Kyo.

Ayato looked around the room and sighed. "Does this mean that, unless they had bad lives, no one I knew here… all of my friends… They won't come back? I'll never see them again?" He looked at her, hoping she would prove him wrong.

"Yes… I'm sorry, but the chances of you ever seeing them, in this world or the next, are very slim."

Ayato stared at his shoes. "I know… I was just hoping…"

"Hey, cheer up!" She said, ruffling his hair. "It'll get better, okay? I understand how you're feeling, and I'm here to help you, just like Otonashi did" She smiled sweetly, and continued speaking.

"Your information, Ayato, Is very helpful for those people who do not wish to pass on, but have come to terms with their past, but wish to forget it as well. "

"Wait just a damned minute!" Ayato exclaimed, "You mean there are people here who can pass on… but won't?"

"Yes actually, but if you would just let me-."

"We aren't supposed to stay here though!"

"If you want to stay here, and you are free of your lingering emotions, you can remain here, forever if you wish. If you wanted to leave you could, and that's what most people do. I like when they pass on though. It means they can go back to living and I can have one less person to worry about… Not that it really matters though; I have enough NPCs to help support everyone here." Dahlia explained.

"NPCs…?" Kyo quietly wondered.

"NPCs are soulless, humanoid characters that you can bend and shape to meet your will, if you have the tools to do so. Now let's get back to the laptops. There was Ayato's… and… Yuri's! Yuri had details on every member of the Battlefront and their territory. There is enough information on you, Ayato, to prove my theory that when you are reborn, you come back with the same name and looks, though your personality can change. You act slightly different that you apparently did during your first time here." She put Yuri's laptop on top of Ayato's, and pushed them off to the side.

"This pink one was very useful. Kanade's had information on the ingenious software, AngelPlayer, which allows you to change the world and everything in it. She included easy instructions, which I used to alter myself slightly, and the school grounds. That is when I thought, 'Hey, if I can do all this, why can't I expand this world and make new things?', and that's what I did." She put Kanade's laptop on top of Yuri's.

"This one... This one belonged to Otonashi. There wasn't much on it, other than a while that, when the laptop is first opened, would send a hologram to speak to the person who opened it. It asked me to, to be honest, to be the next Otonashi, and I accepted. He told me how it may have been his destiny, because he had come here by accident, but he couldn't stay. And now, here I am." She tossed a small canvas bag at Ayato.

"Use this if you wish to reclaim your laptop. Now, let me show you what I added to this world. First, I wiped all the NPCs from this world, and then created a generator to make NPCs that seemed almost completely human, other than the fact that they are all generally friendly and sociable. It's very easy to interact with every single one of them, and a lot of the people here live with them on a daily basis! Also, there is no money here anymore and there really isn't any crime. Everything is free and automatically replenishes." She swayed a bit, and sat back down on the couch.

"Oof…" She muttered,

"Jesus, I'm tired… I usually only get 1 person every few weeks… Something big must have happened…" She reached over and pulled a hair out of each of the boy's heads. They recoiled and rubbed their heads.

"What the hell did you do that for?" Kyo demanded.

"Oh be quiet! It's for my tracking."

"What?"

"I'll explain later. Now, Ayato. Give me your information. Name, Age, Sex, Past and or Death."

She picked up her tablet again and crossed her legs.

"What?" He asked.

"Name, Age, Sex, Past and or Death." She repeated.

"Okay… Uhh… Ayato Naoi, 16, Male… And I really don't… remember…" Ayato looked sad again.

"Okay… Ayato... Male… Am-Ne-Si-A! And you, Kyo?"

Kyo stared. "Kyo Sohma. 17. Male. None of your business and I don't believe I'm dead."

"Okay! Let's go!"

"Where?" Ayato asked.

She didn't explain as she marched out of the office, tablet and baggies with hair in hand. The two looked at each other stood up, and followed her.

Ayato quickly ran back into the room, and put his laptop into Dahlia's bag. He looked around the room once more, and imagined all his old friends, gathered here discussing a mission… Hanging out with Otonashi, hypnotizing Hinata…

He sighed, and ran out to catch up to Dahlia and Kyo. They were just exiting the building as her ran up to them, and Dahlia, hearing his footsteps, turned her head and smiled.

"Hey." She said simply.

Ayato smiled back.

"Forget something?"

He nodded and Dahlia laughed, while Kyo remained silent.

"Oh, come on!" She nudged his side. "Don't you have anything to say? Comments? Questions? More than a five word sentence?" She looked exasperated.

"I don't want to be here."

"I know you don't, but you are, and if you keep acting like this, you will be for a long time."

"No I won't. I'll get back."

She groaned. "No! No you won't! No one can leave until they rid themselves of any lingering emotions from their past." Dahlia was losing her patience with him, after dealing with so many souls in such a short time.

"I don't have any!" Kyo's temper rose, his voice grew loud.

"You know that isn't true. If you didn't, you wouldn't be here, and you certainly wouldn't be acting like this." Dahlia was caught off guard by his quick temper and defensive tone, and she flinched back as she spoke.

Kyo brushed his hair back, attempting to calm himself a bit. "What about 'Otonashi', huh? He didn't have any lingering emotions! He still ended up here!"

"Yes, but that's because he lost his memories and his soul was lost. After wandering for a very long time, it finally found a resting place. Here! It was a complete accident!"

"How do you know? I could easily have come here by accident too!"

"No, you couldn't have! I told you I've been here a while! I've seen enough of the two to tell the difference."

"And how long is a 'A while'? Huh?" His temper was explosive. "A year? Two, maybe?"

"Ten!" She yelled. She blinked several times. "Not one. Not two. Not even five. I've been here for ten years, helping lost and tortured souls find their place in the worlds. Ten years of never aging and watching my friends leave. Don't tell me I've made a mistake, because you'd be very, very wrong." She pulled out a card with an address on it and threw it at Kyo.

"You can find me later, when you want to talk. The building is quite easy to find. It's the tallest one there." She paused and took a deep breath. She turned, "Come with me, Ayato. You might want to see this." And began to walk away. "Don't worry about Mr. Sohma, okay Ayato? If he wants to, he can follow."

She didn't look back, because she was afraid that they might see her face turning red with anxiety.

Ayato looked between Dahlia and Kyo, they were both clearly angry, but he would rather have taken his chances with Dahlia, so he followed after her, glancing back towards Kyo, who sat on the ground and rested his head in his hands.

After walking behind Dahlia for a short amount of time, Ayato ran up to be beside her.

"I wonder why he was so upset…' He wondered.

"Denial."

"What?"

"Denial." She stopped and turned to Ayato. "He's probably angry at me, and at everyone, because his life was very hard and required him to have a thick shell. Now that it's over, and people are trying to befriend him, his mind doesn't quite comprehend what people are saying, and he's reverting to his normal state. Basically, it doesn't quite register with him at the moment… He'll get over it, eventually."

"So… He doesn't believe he's dead?"

"I think he just can't believe that everything that has happened to him in his life is finally over. I felt the same way for a few days before I was… Proven wrong... Well, I tripped and fell off a cliff and… Well I didn't die, obviously. And that's how I realised that I really was dead..." She scuffed her foot on the ground, and Ayato laughed at her.

"It's not funny!" Her face turned red. "I am just… Very clumsy! It's not my fault! That's why I shortened my legs…"

She marched forward again, and Ayato stifled himself.

Nearing a wall, Ayato heard a noise behind them and turned to see what it was.

"He's following us!" Ayato exclaimed.

"Let him."

"Do you think he was listening to our conversation before?"

"If he was, he was." She shrugged as they entered the gate and climbed up a hill. The tops of buildings began to appear in the distance and when they reached the top, the new city practically glowed, and there were more high rises than you could count. 30-storey apartments were along the edge of the boundary, and smaller shops and 2 floor houses speckled the area. Ayato's mouth gaped wide.

"You- You made this?" He asked incredulously, and Dahlia nodded.

"Whoa…"

They turned to see Kyo, standing behind them.

"So you did come." Dahlia noted.

"Mmf."

"Well, come on!" She started to head into the city.

"Where are we going?" Ayato asked.

"The penthouse… Kinda" And she smiled.

**(With Kyo)**

Kyo slowly followed behind Dahlia and Ayato. /Annoying kid, and snarky girl… Of course that's who I'm stuck with…/ He thought. He didn't like how they talked about him, especially Dahlia. They didn't know how he felt about this, or about anything. He kicked a rock away and looked up to the sky. It was getting cloudy, and birds flew by with no worries. /It would be great if what they're saying were true though…/ Kyo sighed. It was way too good to be true… /How did they fake the accident, though? It all seemed so real…/ He didn't understand how it was possible. "I can't be dead." He muttered. " It wouldn't make any sense." He continued to follow them to the street.


	3. Chapter 2 Believable

Ayato and Kyo impatiently awaited the return of Dahlia, who had once again disappeared without explanation. Confused, and still a bit upset, Ayato took a seat at the base of a tree and stared up at the clouds in the sky. Every so often, one would cover up the sun, and there would be a slight chill on the breeze. The trees swayed as the winded picked up speed, and the sky began to threaten rain.

Kyo began to look upset and tired.

Ayato sighed and thought about what had happened today. He stared at Kyo, who was pacing back and forth, with agitation on his face.

"What's your problem?" He asked Kyo.

"What?"

"I said: What's your problem."

"Nothing."

"Then why are you being so mean? Especially to Dahlia… At least you'll have a conversation with me."

"I don't have to be nice."

"But she's been nothing but, to the both of us!"

"She's a liar! There's no way what she says could be true…" Kyo took a seat next to Ayato. "I don't know how she- or both of you- did it… I don't believe I'm dead. There's no way the bus could have crashed… Everything she says is bullshit."

"No it isn't…"

"How could you know?"

"Because… I've been here already…" Ayato sighed. "How could she know, everything I know to be true, if she was lying?"

"I don't know!" Kyo's temper began to flare. "It's just too good to be true!"

"That doesn't mean it isn't!"

"SO?"

"BOYS!" Dahlia called from the bottom of the hill. Neither of them had noticed Dahlia pull up in a large, orange golf cart. "Tempers!"

Ayato's face turned red, and Kyo turned to avoid eye contact.

"I leave for ten minutes and now you're already at each other's throats. Kyo! Why are you arguing with poor, little Ayato?" She put her hands on her hips and tapped her foot, awaiting their answers.

"How do you know I started it? And why are you babying him?" Kyo said, not quite speaking to her, but more like talking to air.

"I know you started it, because you're the one with the bad temper and the denial issues. Plus, Ayato's had a bad day!" She ruffles Ayato's hair and went back to the cart.

"Come on!" She said, beckoning them over.

"Why does she even have this thing…?" Kyo muttered.

"I have it because I don't like cars. They pollute, and I'm trying to give everyone here a subconscious message to not pollute in their next lives." She said, and as the two boys sat down, she turned the keys.

-ZUTTO KIMI NO SOBA DE~ ANO HI, BOKU GA, MUNE NI, CHIKATTA~ YA-KU-SO-KU-SAAA- Blasted out of the stereo on the front. She turned down the volume

"Sorry…" She said, and quietly sung along as she began to drive through the streets.

**(A short drive later)**

"Here we are!" Dahlia exclaimed parking the cart, and running up to a very tall building. She stood there, impatiently waiting for them to look at their surroundings and make their way up to her.

"Finally…" She muttered after five minutes of their awe, and ushered them into a lobby with several elevators.

"The one on the end." she said, pointing to a lone elevator that was off to the side.

They walked in and Dahlia pushed '30'. Aside from the hum of machinery, and a few ignored beeps coming from Dahlia's backpack, the ride up was spent in silence.

The doors opened, to reveal a plain hallway, with two doors, one, a purple-y color, and the other, a blue. The walls were made up of simple flowered wallpaper with neutral coloring, and the flooring was seamless brown carpeting, devoid of bumps and had little texture. Dahlia dug through her and pulled out five or six key cards, and took two from the handful that matched the color of the blue door.

"I have an extra room in this building now, thanks to Richard…" She muttered, half to herself, "You two can share the-."

"No." Kyo said simply, taking the cards from her grasp and locking himself in the room.

"Hey!" Ayato called, and banged on the door, to which Kyo ignored

"It's okay Ayato, I have a guest room. You can stay with me!" She said with a smile, and handed him the purple card. Ushering him towards the door, she took a gold card and opened the door to the room Kyo had locked himself in.

"I have a master key you know!" She yelled in, slamming the door behind her, and following Ayato into her home.

**(Later)**

Ayato sat awkwardly in the rainbow, egg-shaped chair. Dahlia was lying on a large, plush, bright orange couch, sound asleep. Other than an occasional mutter from the worn out girl, the large, open room was completely silent, and Ayato was otherwise completely alone. From the moment the door was closed, Dahlia had kicked off her shoes and thrown her bag off into the corner, sat on the couch and fluffed a pillow. Thinking that she wanted him to follow in her example, he sat as well, only to watch her fall asleep before her head even hit the pillow. Ayato sighed, and to his surprise, it echoed around the room. He looked around.

When you walked in the room, to your left would be a wall made entirely up of window, a 2-couch 2-chair living room set, with patterned rug, coffee table and flat-screen TV, sat in the corner. Diagonal from the living area was a small kitchen, with lots of cupboard space and a counter-island in the middle, with barstools on either side.

To the right, a small mud-room like area, with mats for shoes, a coat closet and hooks, in between the mud-area and the kitchen was a round dining table with four chairs around it.

In the last corner sat a hallway with four doors, one of them open to show that it led to a large, four-piece bathroom.

Ayato's stomach growled with hunger. He was starving.

"Alligator..." Dahlia mumbled in her sleep and turned over.

Off put by her sleep-talking, he quickly glanced at Dahlia, and went to go scavenge for food. Opening a cupboard, he saw a lot of snacks.

"Bearpaws, Gushers, Pocky, Ramen, Jar labeled 'Cookies'…" He listed off the contents of the cupboard and opened a package of Banana Bread Bearpaws.

He munched on it, and went to find his room. He ignored the bathroom, and opened the first door. It was a medium sized room, filled with about a dozen computers, each with three external hard drives, and book shelves stocked with a lot Manga, Novels, DVDs, and Anime. The closet had a few extra monitors, and there were small shelves lining a wall, with bins of USB sticks, Mice, Keyboards, Web cams and other accessories like that.

"Mmf." He muttered.

Since this room was clearly not a bedroom, as there was no bed, or personal space, he walked out, and opened the room at the end of the hall.

He walked into the large, brightly colored room, with light-indigo walls and orange trim. There was a large bed with a floral prints, and lots of pillows. Above the bed had several plushie characters that looked like some of the character he had seen in Dahlia's Manga and Anime collection.

A large window, and an art desk, with an easel, paints and brushes, and lots and lots of sketch- and notebooks were piled at the end of the room. On the other wall, there was a simple, light, wooden desk that looked oddly out of place in the colorful room, with a purple laptop with lots of stickers on it. Artwork was tacked onto the walls, and there were pictures of people he didn't recognize on most of the surfaces.

Even without the large sign that said "DAHLIA" on the back of the door, he could tell it was hers, so he walked into the last door.

It was a simple, neutral room, with a bed, an empty closet, an empty dresser, and a desk.

There was nothing to distinguish who could have lived in the rooms and turned on a lamp on the night table near the head of the bed. The window at the far end of the room had flowing curtains with a tan, reclining chair put next to it to look out into the darkening city.

He sat in the chair and was once again amazed by the fact that Dahlia could make such things out of nothing, he watched birds fly by carelessly, and it started to thunder. He stretched, and yawned as he realized how tired he was. He flopped onto the bed and stared at the ceiling.

He hadn't noticed before, but there were bright yellow stars, going towards the center in an almost spinning pattern, painted above him, and in excellent detail. A spark lit in his mind. It reminded him of his home, of his bedroom. He remembered his father painting stars onto his ceiling one summer, when he was just a little boy, and he had showed an interest in astronomy. He couldn't remember anything else though. His head was swimming with his newfound memories and with the thoughts running through his head, he slowly fell asleep. His last, discernable thought was,

"I wonder how Kyo is…"

(With Kyo)

Kyo sat in a large, dark couch, staring out into the pouring rain.

He hated rain… Despite how some people call it "soothing", he called it annoying. Whenever it rain, he got mopey and tired. His pulled his knees up to his face and rested his head on them.

Lifting up his hands to check his wrists again, he fearfully confirmed that they were still bare. His bracelet was still missing, and he was afraid. Afraid of the complications of him transforming in front of people.

"But… If- If it's gone and I am not that… that thing… Maybe…"He thought out loud, and to himself, and begun to think of other things as well.

"What if... what if they're telling the truth?" He said, 'What if I'm really…" He paused, "Dead. Am I free? Am I really free?"

He stared off into space, shaking off that ridiculous thought.

He couldn't be dead and he would never be free.

/The two of them are… Are just really good at special effects. Yeah, that's it! Ayato apparently know hypnotism, maybe that's how.../

"Meh…"

He wondered why Dahlia was so interested in everyone, and what happened to them. Maybe she knew something about his family's secret.

Maybe she was really sincere...

He couldn't understand why she'd want to help people pass on, though. If it were him, he wouldn't care about anyone. He'd stay in his shell, and fend for himself. Like he had... All his life...

He sniffed. Surprisingly, he missed his home, and his senpai... She was the only person in the world he truly cared about and the only person who cared about him. And now, with what he was facing... He missed her. She was like a mother to him.

"Akane…"

Kyo suddenly stood up and walked into a spacious bedroom. He wanted to clear his head, and collapsed on the soft feather bed. He felt like he almost wanted to cry, but instead, as the thoughts drained from his head, he slowly fell asleep and did not dream.

**(In the middle of the night)**

Both Ayato and Kyo slept soundly through the night, and did not wake to the presence that stood over them for a while, while they slept. Kyo slept the soundest, for he did not hear the clattering and dragging that echoed through the apartment late at night.

**(With Ayato)**

The sun rose up just as Ayato opened his eyes. It was still raining, but it slowly got brighter and brighter, even behind the clouds. He rubbed his eyes, and saw that someone had laid out a fresh pair of jeans and a t-shirt for him, at the end of the bed. He changed quickly and walked into the common area.

Dahlia sat at the island in the kitchen. Her hair was fuzzy and wild, and she wore an oversized black t-shirt and shorts. She was slouched over, and had dark circles under her eyes. She turned her head and mumbled an acknowledgement of his presence, and took another bite of what appeared to be, a large bowl full of Corn Pops.

He went to sit next to her, and on the counter that was just out of view, there was a mountain of various foods. He opened his mouth to ask, but in his groggy state of mind, could not find the words to for the question.

Dahlia looked from Ayato, to the food and yawned.

"Oh- I, um… I was up early, so I raided his kitchen for everything but Richard's weird onion crap. I don't want that stuff stinking up my fridge…"

Ayato's stomach growled.

"Oh, Heh Heh… Sorry 'bout that." She smiled and stood up. "What do you want?"

"Cereal's fine… I'll just have what you're having."

She turned and looked at him. "Are you sure? I'll make you whatever you want, just ask."

"It's fine, really." He laughed, as Dahlia got him stuff for cereal.

"So… Why did you steal Kyo's food?" He asked her.

"I knew there was enough food to keep him holed up in there for at least a week, and I didn't want Mr. Grumpy to be anymore anti-social than he has to." She stood up and walked to the giant window.  
>"No one comes out in the rain anymore… I wonder why…" She mused.<p>

"Do you want me to stop it so I can give you two a proper tour?" She asked Ayato.

"You can do that?" He asked incredulously.

"Yes, but it's harder to stop than to start. It'll take a bit." She went to finish her cereal, and then sat on the couch to get to work. "I should be done before Kyo wakes up, finds that he has no food, debates whether or not he wants to face us, and then bugs us for food."

Ten minutes later, after Ayato had finished eating and was now watching TV, there was a knock at the door.

"Guess who?" She said, and went to go answer the door.

She opened it a crack.

"Yes?" She asked sweetly.

"I have no food." He said.

"And…?"

"Uh…"

"You're hungry?"

"Yes…"

"What do you say?"

"Please?"

"Please, what?"

"Please, can I have food?"

"Are you asking me, or telling me?"

"Mff… Asking?"

"And why are you asking me?"

Her question was met with silence.

"I was hoping you would spontaneously improvise or something… I guess it's too early to expect anything of you. Come on." She opened the door and did a broad, mocking bow.

"Thanks…" He muttered, and shuffled inside. The pile of food stopped him short.

"Did you take all that from the apartment?"

"Yes, why?"

"Why did you take the food?"

"You're here aren't you?"

He mumbled something unintelligible.

"You sleep like the dead, you know…" She said, as she closed the door and sat down again. "Or a cat. I haven't decided yet."

He stared at her uncomfortably.

"Oh, you go eat something!" She yelled at him with mock anger, and continued working.

"Hey, Kyo!" Ayato called to him.

"What…?" He asked him, turning away from whatever he was eating.

"You look like crap." He nodded towards his disheveled appearance.

"I don't like the rain." He said.

"Well, you don't have to worry about it anymore!" Dahlia said, "I'm done, and it will soon be sunny!"

She smiled at him, and he ignored her.

"Hurry up and eat. If it'll make you less douchebag-y, go have some coffee too." She said, and went into her room to go and change clothes.

"Ayato…" Kyo started, "Why did she take my food?"

"It's probably part of her diabolical plan, or something." He said.

"You know I can hear you from in here!" Dahlia shouted from her room, "And yes, it is!"

Ayato chuckled.

"She's funny." He said, being a bit quieter. "Or… At least I hope she's kidding…"

Kyo stood up, finished eating, and left.

The door slammed behind him, and Dahlia ran out of her room.

"No!" She yelled "Ayato! Go hold the elevator!"

She slipped on flip flops and ran out the door. Ayato followed her instructions and heard scuffling ad crashing coming from Kyo's apartment.

Dahlia burst out of the door, walking backwards, pulling Kyo by his ankles and headed towards Ayato. Kyo was scratching at the floor, trying to catch something to grip, but to his dismay, there was nothing to grab onto.

"You're coming!" She yelled at him.

"Leave me alone!"

"Never!"

They reached the elevator and Dahlia slammed her hand on the one.

The doors close, and she slumped to the ground, out of breath. Ayato burst out laughing, and Kyo shot him a dirty look.

"What the hell!" He exclaimed.

"I already told you-." She took a breath, "I'm going to help you, and that will require you coming with us."

Kyo shook his head and uttered something under his breath.

They both stood up again, and as the door opened, it revealed a girl, no older than 14, with brown hair and a school uniform.

"Um…" She said and waved to the guys. "Yea, hi. Uh, Dahlia, Elli's doing it again." She sounded nervous.

Dahlia's expression went cold.

"Oh god, okay, thanks Zendaylah. Is anyone seriously hurt?"

Zendaylah shook her head. "Not yet…"

"Jesus… Come on you two!" And she ran away.

The boys quickly followed.

"'Zendaylah'?" Ayato asked when they caught up to her.

"She changed her name. A lot of the ones who stay do. I don't have a last name, she changed hers to 'Zendaylah'" She shrugged it off and kept going.

"You don't have a last name?"

"Personal Choice." She said simply and they turned the corner and saw a short girl with dark hair, and a uniform that match Zendaylah's. She was holding a knife and screaming at anyone who came near her.

"ELLIE MINARLAVICH!" Dahlia yelled at her. " IF I"VE TOLD YOU ONCE… STOP STABBING PEOPLE IN A FIT OF RAGE!"

Ellie whipped her head around. She breathed heavily and glared murderously at them. She raised the knife and charged.

They dodged, and Dahlia tackled her.

"Dahlia!" Ayato said, pointing at Kyo.

"What? Oh… Oh dear…" She said.

Kyo hadn't been as lucky as Dahlia and Ayato, and Ellie had stabbed him in the stomach. Kyo lay on the ground, passed out with blood pouring out of his wound.

"Eww…" Ayato said.

"Dammit Ellie… You've got to working on your anger problems!"

Ellie was breathing deeply, and seemed to be calming down a bit.

"Who gave her the knife?" Dahlia yelled to the general public.

She sighed, and pulled out a camera and took Kyo's picture. Then she stanched his bleeding, carefully picked him up and half-carried half-dragged him back to their building.


	4. Chapter 3 Constricted

**RAKHEKFBHKJSBG hi.**

**Disclaimer: Nothing is mine, but my OCs**

**Update: Sometime after NaNoWriMo**

Kyo groaned as he attempted to sit up. A sharp pain shot through his stomach that he couldn't quite identify.

He tried again, more carefully, but found that the bean-bag-chair-ness of the couch made it impossible for him to do so.

"Oh good, you're up…" An unfamiliar voice murmured.

He shifted his head, and saw the girl who had stabbed him.

"You…" Kyo said, and the girl shifted uncomfortably in her seat.

"Sorry about that whole… Incident…" She said, sounding extremely apologetic.

"Mmf." He grunted and stared at the ceiling again. "Am… Am I dead?"

"Well yeah, if I was able to stab you here then you're obviously- Oh, did you mean if you died here? You can't really die I you're already dead… That would be madness!

"It is madness!"

"What's madness?" Ayato poked his head out of his room.

"Madness!" Dahlia's voice echoes through the room, as if from nowhere.

Ellie and Kyo looked towards the doors in confusion, and Kyo shook his head.

"I guess its okay… Why were you stabbing people, exactly?"

"I have… issues. Mainly spurts of anger and rage. I can't really control myself when it happens…" She twiddled her thumbs.

"Do you… Want to know about my past?" She asked him.

"Uh, okay… Sure."

She took a deep breath.

...

"When I was alive, I was the middle child of seven. I know that isn't really an excuse, but it led up to my attention issues.

I was the one who was put in charge of watching my little siblings when my mom was working, and my older siblings were out smoking, drinking and partying.

This was a normal until I turned 12.

I had a breakdown and ran out of my house, only to fall in with a starting gang. They saw some kind of potential in me, and, I wouldn't say forced, but convinced me to join them. They taught me to relieve stress with violence…

In a few months with them, I was a raging alcoholic and I had gotten an addiction to most street drugs. I tried to go home once, but my mother wouldn't let me inside the house. I thought that, because my mom did the exact same thing to my older siblings, she had stopped loving me, or considered me just another failure of a child.

That's when my anger issues began. I was the fighter in my group, because when someone got me angry, I wouldn't stop until something happened to calm me down.

I guess it must have been horrible for anyone around me…

One day, though, some new gang members had been sent to go and find another member to jump.

I wasn't in on it, and the three guys didn't know about my problems.

They saw the jacket, and attacked me.

I freaked out, and accidentally killed one of them.

They got scared, and ran. I guess they called the cops, because next thing I knew, I was rejected by my gang, and I found myself smuggling myself on a plane to Japan.

I didn't think my plan through, when I used counterfeit to get the ticket, and then used my real passport to get there…

I was soon discovered hiding in an alley.

They closed in on me, and I knew they were going to put me in jail. I tried to run, stabbing one cop to try to cause a diversion, and I was shot down in five seconds flat."

...

She stared at her shoes and Kyo looked at her in shock.

"So you're how old?"

"Thirteen."

"Whoa… So you… You had a pretty rough life, huh?"

"Yea, I guess. I get it know that my mom didn't hate me… She just didn't want me to be a negative influence on my siblings. I never had a normal life, no true friends, and no education… I'm here until I fulfill my need for normal-ness. Thank to Dahlia, I've calmed down quite a bit, and now I'm best friends with Zendaylah. You met her earlier, right?"

"Huh… Oh, yeah I did…"

Ellie looked at her watch, and stood up. "I have to go. 'I'm really sorry, about everything."

"Okay, it was… It was good meeting you, I guess…"

"Bye…" And she left.

Kyo rubbed his stomach, which still hurt like hell, and winced.

"Can we come out now?"

"Is your touch, heart-to-heart moment over now?" Ayato and Dahlia's voices chimed from their rooms.

"Fine…" Kyo grunted, to tired and achy to argue, and they ran into the room.

"You feeling okay?" Ayato asked him.

"Sucks, doesn't it?" Dahlia smirked, "Do you believe me now?" She looked smug.

"I…" Kyo began, sounding negative.

Dahlia's frowned, and sat on his legs.

He cringed, for Dahlia was heavier that she looked, and started cursing.

"Shit! Fine, I BELIEVE YOU!" He yelled in pain.

"Good." And she stood up again."

"Fuck… Why the hell did that hurt somuch!"

"Wellll… While I carried you back here, I accidentally dropped you and you pretty much broke your leg or something."

"WHAT?"

"It wasn't on purpose! It was either you, or both of us. You were already unconscious, so I figured a bit of extra pain wouldn't be anything more than a good persuasion technique."

"How did you carry me all the way here?"

"My point exactly."

Kyo grumbled to himself, and Dahlia pulled the picture that she had taken a few days earlier out of her pocket.

"Oh yeah! This is what you looked like after you passed out, just to clarify, so you don't get any ideas." She tossed the Polaroid at him and sat back down.

Kyo took one glance at it, and his face lost all color.

"What the…" He couldn't look away from himself, his blood pouring around his body, staining the ground red. He torn his eyes away, and Dahlia was baring her teeth like a vampire and hissed.

Ayato laughed and mimicked her. Kyo shook his head, and his stomach growled.

"I'm hungry."

"I can tell. What'dya want? Take-out, or do you want me to cook?"

"Meh…" He said.

"Secret Dish it is!" She said, and went to go cook. "I shall do something evil to it!" She smiled, and Ayato and Kyo shared a worried glance.

After several minutes passed, and Ayato broke the silence by muttering, "I told you so…"

"What?" Kyo asked.

"I told you we weren't lying to you."

Kyo sighed. "You could easily be lying still."

"How? How could we possibly be lying? We have photographic evidence!"

"Photoshop." He shrugged.

"It's an instant Polaroid." Dahlia interrupted. "How could I possibly change it? I'm not magic!"

"But… But you can change the way you look! You can stop the rain!"

"So?" She asked, and picked up the tablet and tapped a bright square. It thundered.

"What the-?" Kyo said, startled.

Dahlia, apparently done cooking, sat in her spinny chair and gazed out into the rain.

It was a much stronger downpour than before.

"Mmmf…" Kyo moaned and yawned. Ayato bent over to look at him.

"He looks funny…"

"I don't-… I don't like the rain…" He mumbled.

"I love rain." Dahlia smiled. "It's nice, and refreshing. Summer down pours are my favorite, when it's hot and it just storms."

Kyo said something unnintelligble, and she laughed at him.

"You know something, Kyo? You remind me of a cat I had a few years ago… He was all grumpy and stuff, and he hated being caught in the rain. When he liked someone, he was such a little fluffball though…" She turned to him, "Are you a little fluffball when you like people, Kyo?" She joked.

"No. I hate everything." He muttered, and everyone laughed at him. "Mmf."

Dahlia went back to watching the people in the streets scatter.

"I'm guessing you like cats?" Ayato asked her, feeling left out of the conversation.

She whipped her head around and, with an incredibly serious expression, that didn't quite look right on her face, said. "Yes. Yes I do. Cats are fantastic. The only reason why I don't have Nefer-kitty anymore is because of Richard… He hated them-"

She paused to grumble to herself,

"-And was allergic. I needed him to help me too badly, and had to be here a lot, so I left my poor baby with one of my friends… I should really go look for him…"

Kyo murmered something, and before anyone could pay attention to him, Ayato jumped in with, "'Nefer-Kitty'? Seriously?"

"I like weird names! He was my male Maine-coon. He was so fluffy and cute and sweet and…" The stove beeped. "Oh!" She ran over to go stir a pot of something. "It's done!"

"What is the-" /Cough/ " 'Evil' You've done to it?"

"It looks fine…"

"I was kidding." Dahlia said dryly.

...

The pair sat on the couch in awe. They had been watching Dahlia, watching an Anime, and clutching the Plushie of what appeared to be a main character, for four and a half hours, reciting all the character's lines.

"Do you think she can do that with the other ones too?" Ayato whispered, referring to her vast collection, and Kyo just shrugged.

...

A clock chimed eleven P.M., and Dahlia was fast asleep.

"Should we wake her?" Ayato asked, and without waiting for a reply and did not wait for a reply as he shook her.

"Mmmf…" She mumbled and turned over as she slowly woke up.

"Wha-?"

"You fell asleep…"

"Oh, god… I'm sorry was it bad?"

"Was what bad?"

She stared at him with an increasingly worried expression on her face.

"Nothing. Never mind." She said quickly, and headed to her room.

The door shut, and everything went silent.

"Are you going back now?"

"No… I'm still a bit sore I'll just crash here." Kyo said, and he pulled a blanket off the ground and covered himself.

"See. I'm good." He said simply.

Ayato didn't reply. Slowly nodding, he turned off the lights and went to bed.

"G'night!" He called, and shut the door. A flash of color caught his eye. He turned and saw his walls, which had been a neutral tan just a few hours before, were now a shade of green. He touched the walls. They were completely dry.

"I'll ask Dahlia about it later…" He mumbled to himself and changed into the pajamas she had given him.

And he slowly…

Fell…

A  
>s<br>l  
>e<br>e  
>p<p>

.  
>.<p>

...

Dahlia sat at her art desk sketching a half-formed figure. It had no features, and wasn't male or female. It just was.

She heard a rustling somewhere outside her door.

/It's probably Ayato or Kyo…/ She thought, but now that she was distracted, she went to read a book.

She heard a muffled yell and, miffed, went to go investigate.

Walking into the common area, she saw Kyo, thrashing a talking in his sleep.

She ran to his side and attempted to wake him. "Kyo! Wake up Kyo!"

She tried to push him, but nothing worked, so she quickly filled a cup with water and dumped it on his head.

...

"What?" Kyo asked, alarmed because he had been suddenly awakened. He looked around. It was dark.

He heard a sigh and footsteps, then, a light went on.

"Are you okay?" A voice asked him, and with those words, rushes of memories swirled through his head.

Him as a child, alone in a park.  
>Shying away from all who came near.<br>The light-haired girl, his only friend.  
>They fight, she leaves, the world is dark again.<p>

"Kyo?"

He whipped his head around, and saw Dahlia looking worried, with odd, dark circles under her eyes.

"What?" He said angrily, his face burning bright.

"Are you- Are you all right? Is everything okay?"

Of course it isn't…" He shook his head. "Just leave me alone!" He started to get up and leave.

"Wait!" She reached out to pull him back, but he pushed her away.

"Don't touch me." He stared at her with disgust and walked closer to the door.

"It was your memories, wasn't it?"

He stopped and stared at her. "How-?"

Her eyes filled with pain.

"It was nightmares, wasn't it." She said, quietly.

He stared.

"Go back to sleep." She said, blinking several times to many, and turned off the light. She turned off the light again, and left.

He lay back down.

/What?/  
>He tried to comprehend what just happened, and thought back.<p>

. . .

"Mmmf…" She mumbled and turned over as she slowly woke up.

"Wha-?"

"You fell asleep…"

"Oh, god… I'm sorry was it bad?"

"Was what bad?"

She stared at him with an increasingly worried expression on her face.

"Nothing. Never mind." She said quickly, and headed to her room.

The door shut, and everything went silent.

. . .

"Oh…?" He said quietly. He thought of how… Tired, she looked. /Maybe she… She has nightmares?/  
>In the dark, he kept seeing the blackened circles under her eyes.<p>

/Does she even want to sleep? It's so late, and she seemed wide awake… Would hers be so terrible that…/

He shivered at the nerves his nightmares touched.

His eyes closed, and he tried to sleep.

...

Ayato was awake before dawn. He assumed Dahlia was asleep, and thus, did not attempt to open her door, and Kyo was still sleeping haphazardly on the couch. He ate, and decided to go and see the sights that were so new to him.

Walking out into the sunshine felt good on his skin and he saw the typical bustle of a city. Hurried people walking into and out of buildings, laughing, talking… There was no hate.

At this time more than anything, he wanted to remember what had been to have him sent here again. If his memories were so terrible, he wanted to know that there was a place that would never have all those bad moments.

A street car rushed in front of his face, and he jumped back, stunned.

"That was close…" He said quietly to himself, as he ran after it and hopped on it, letting it take him to anywhere.

...

She was back in the kitchen when Kyo awoke. Her dark circles were gone, and he thought more of the incidents that may have occurred in her past.

...

She heard the rustling of fabric in the general direction of Kyo.

/Look up…/ And she did. /Smile. Don't make him worry./ And she did…

...

"Good morning!" She said cheerily.

He watched her solemnly.

"Why the long face? Did you sleep well?"

When he didn't respond, she said, "Do you want to talk about it?"

He shook his head No.

"Do you… Get them too?" He asked her, and she sat next to him and scrutinized him, looking for a motive behind his words.

She must of found genuine concern behind his eyes, for she responded with, "Yeah… And way to often at that…"

She put he hand under her eye, and Kyo wondered if she was wiping away tears. He couldn't handle tears. She moved her hand, to reveal the dark circles from before, concealed by heavy make-up.

"I had to sound proof my room… I bothered to many people…"  
>She played with her sleeve. "I don't like to be much of a bother… Richard hated it too… I did my best so that when I sleep, if I do sleep and believe me, I do NOT enjoy it, that no one would be able to here me if I freak out…"<p>

"This Richard guy sounds like a real douchebag…"

"He was the only help I had. I didn't like him that much, but he was all I had to work with."

"So… What are they about… Your nightmares?"

She stared at him.

"You don't ask questions like that. It is way to personal for most people."

"But you asked me-."

"-If you WANTED to talk. I did not directly ask you about them. Too many people consider it rude."

She playfully punched his shoulder to lighten the mood.

"Don't bother either. I'm not telling you, or Ayato, anything yet. Only three people in ten years know anything about it, and, now, only 2 people know about my nightmares. I'd suggest you don't say anything about it either."

She stood and threw a bundle of fabric at Kyo."

"Now, go shower. You stink."

And she pushed him out the door.

...

"Huh…" Dahlia sighed and sunk to the ground, cradling her head in her hands. She had only every told Richard about her nightmares… And that was only because she had to… She hoped Kyo had enough sense not to mention it to anyone…

She might lose her confidence, or her emotional mask, and all her work would be ruined.

/It isn't often a n00b has a bad nightmare like that… I only started getting mine after about five years… Maybe they won't be constant…/

She brooded and repeatedly hit the back of her head on the wall as she thought.

"Angst…"

She went to the window and ran every possible outcome through her mind and, overcome with stress, punched the window.

The glass shattered and large chunks of the window fell to the floor.

"Fuuuuuu-!" She yelled and held her hand and hopped up and down, doubling over in pain. "Shiiiiittttt!"

She shook off her pain, and picked up the shards, then replaced the window, and something caught her eye.

She pulled her spinny chair up to the window to examine it.

...

Ayato stood in front of the school, looking up the stairs. He could almost see his fleeting memories play out in front of his eyes.

"Hey, you!" A voice called behind him.

He turned to see the two girls they had seen, Zendaylah and Ellie, from when Kyo passed out.

"Oh, hello!" He called.

"You were one of the guys with Dahlia, right?"

"Yeah."

"Oh cool…. I don't know you're name."

"Ayato Naoi."

"Nice. Soooo… What're you doing out here?"

"Enjoying memories…"

They stared at him with blank faces.

"Nevermind…"

"Hey… Was did Kyo seem mad at me after I left?" Ellie asked.

"Oh yeah, he was your latest 'victim' wasn't he, Ellie?" Zendaylah said teasingly.

"Shut up!"

"Not really." Ayato said, interjecting. "He seemed to have let it go… He was… Surprisingly passive, actually."

"And that's… Weird?"

"Heh heh… Yeah."

"So, do you like it here?" Ellie asked him.

"Yes, actually. It seems much… Happier."

"What?"

"Nothing." /They wouldn't understand if I explained it to them…/ "So, what's it like? You know, having classes with NPCs?"

"It's cool! You can bug them all you want and they NEVER get super pissed!" Zendaylah said happily, "And they walk into all of your jokes!"

"Okay then…" Ayato said. "Hey, you guys don't look Japanese!"

"Oh, I didn't think you would notice!" Ellie said sarcastically. "You know my story." She pointed to herself. "Runaway."

"I'm a transfer." Zendaylah remarked.

"Ahhh… 'Kay. I should probably get back soon…" He looked at the slowly setting sun.

"Do you like Dahlia?" Ellie asked him.

"She seems nice… I can tell that she has a lot of secrets though…"

"We all do…"

"This is a place where you can be anything, and "anything" includes telling everyone absolutely nothing."

A bell rang.

"Oh! We have to go!" Ellie pulled Zendaylah's arm as they started to run back towards the school.

"Bye!" They called back at Ayato.

"Bye." He waved, and hopped on a street car that was perfectly timed for his departure.

...

Ayato walked into the apartment to see Dahlia sitting balanced on her feet, with her knees up on her frequently used office chair.

She was fixated on something on the window, and he walked up behind her.

"H'lo." She mumbled, not taking her eyes off the thing.

"What'cha doing?" He asked her.

She pointed at a small, moving dot on the outside of the glass.

"Bug." She said, and it moved. She made a funny noise.

"So… Why are you staring at it so intently?"

"It has no wings…"

"So?"

"Dude! We're on the 30th floor!"

"Okay…"

"Ninja bug…"

Ayato laughed.

"What's funny?"

"You!"

"Okay…"

"Why don't you try tapping it?"

"I did. Nothing happens…"

"It doesn't fall?"

"Nope. It's an epic ninja bug." She held up her hand for a high five, and he gave her one.  
>A sparkle caught his eyes, and he bent over to pick up a relatively large shard of glass.<p>

"What…?"

"I punched a window.

"Why?"

"I was pissed."

"Why were you pissed?"

"I can't tell you yet."

"Why not?"

"Because I don't feel like it yet."

Ayato shot her a look that said, 'Why?', and Dahlia just smiled.

...

"Pfffffffft-!" Ayato held back laughter as Natlie walked out in a large, baggy, black cosplay.

"Why are you laughing? This is awesome!" She reclined on the couch.

"Something's on your mind." She said.  
>"Spit is out." Kyo bothered him along with Dahlia.<p>

"Well… I was just wondering… Everyone here seems to be from, or in Japan when they die… And you don't seem to be Japanese… Why were you in Japan?"

"I was thinking the same thing… I guess there's one of tehse places for other places too… Anyway… I'm from Canada. I was on vacation."

"Wow… Died on vacation. That must of sucked…" Kyo commented.

"Oh, that's not why it sucked…"


	5. Chapter 4 Dreaming

**Hey there!**

**Long time no see.**

**Disclaimer: I STILL own nothing but OCs.**

**Update: Hell if I know.**

"So… Why?" Ayato began.

"What?"

"Why did it suck?"

Dahlia had stopped talking rather quickly, and shifted her attention to a game on her tablet, one where random fruit flew up on the screen, and you had to swipe it with your finger.

"Why did what suck?" She asked, sounding lost.

"Why did your vacation suck?" Kyo surprised Ayato by asking Dahlia the same question that was about to leave Ayato's lips.

Kyo normally didn't want anything to do with Dahlia, or him for that matter.

He was very aloof, and untrusting, and the only reason he was with them at all was because he was stabbed…

The fact that Kyo was acting slightly sociable should have bee a shock to the two of them, but Dahlia's expression didn't betray any emotion.

Ayato also thought he saw a question in Kyo's eyes. He half-wondered if he was missing something... Something that needed to be explained or experienced to understand fully.

"Oh. Yeah, I'm not telling you." She said simply.

"Why not?" Ayato and Kyo exclaimed, almost in unison.

"I already told you why."

"No you didn't." Kyo said.

"Yes I did. I said that I'd explain it to you when I felt it was necessary... Or something like that..." She trailed off, trying to sound as if she wasn't paying attention, but she was cleary sending looks towards Kyo.

The emotion behind Dahlia's eyes was almost pleading, and everytime she caught Kyo's he sent back a trouble look.

"Did... Did I miss something?" Ayato asked, confused?

"No." Dahlia said quickly. "I mean, no, you didn't miss anything. There was just something I explained to Kyo a little while ago... He still doesn't get it..."

"Oh... Okay then." He knew she was hiding something, he just didn't know what it was.

Dahlia stood up and walked towards the fridge. They had been talking for quite a long time, and Ayato had thought she seemed tired. She reached in, grabbing a can of caffeinated something and downed it, grabbing a second on her way back.

She gave it to Kyo.

He smiled at her and gave her a nod of thanks.

Ayato gaped. _Wh- What? What the hell is going on? _He thought.

"Is something wrong, Ayato?" She asked him.

He closed his mouth.

"I, uh. What?"  
>She tilted her head.<p>

"What's wrong?"

"Never mind." He mumbled.

"No, seriously. What's wrong?"

"It's nothing."

She looked at him with worry in her eyes.

"Well... If anything is troubling you, feel free to talk to me about it, okay?"

"Okay." He agreed.

"Okay!" She smiled, and clapped her hands together. "What do you two want to do today?"

"Do what you want. I'm not coming." Kyo said, walking out the door.

"No." Dahlia said firmly, grabbing his bare wrist to prevent him from leaving. "Nothing has changed. I am going to help you."

"Why are you so obsessed with helping me?" He asked, looking irritated.

She looked him squarely in the eyes. "Because you need me."

Kyo's expression softened for a moment, and he seemed to be lost in memory, or thought, but it hardened quickly again. He ripped his arm from her grasp, and started to leave again.

"Goodbye..." She muttered.

That stopped him. He turned his head to look at her. "Bye." And he left, shutting the door behind him.

Dahlia sighed.

"God damn it!" She said, sinking to the floor. She looked lost again.

"Are you-." Ayato started to say, but he was cut off.

"Are you okay, Ayato?" She startled him by asking him the question that he was about to ask her.

"I didn't mean for you to see that... I've been trying to get him to accept my help, but he's just so..." She trailed off.

"Frustrating? Stupid? Douche baggy?" He said, using her word from before.

This made her chuckle. "Exactly."

"If you don't mind my asking, why are you so obsessed with helping him?" Ayato ventured.

"He's a pretty bad case..." She said. "I don't know many details, but I know his past was pretty terrible..."

"How?"  
>"I can tell. Just like I can tell that you don't belong here."<p>

"Oh..."  
>"Not that I don't want you here!" She said, trying to cover her mistake. "I never met someone so troubled... I feel compelled to help everyone, so the fact that such a messed up boy doesn't want my help just irritates me..."<p>

"Okay. Thanks for answering that for me." That filled a lot of holes for Ayato. It could explain why they act so weird around each other, and why she's always trying to make him do things.

"My offer still stands, you know."

"What?"  
>She stood up, and put on her shoes. "What do you want to do."<p>

Ayato thought for a second. "I have no clue."  
>She grinned. "Excellent."<p>

They walked out into the hallway, Dahlia still looked thoughtful as she locked the door and headed for the elevator.

"Are you going to drag out Kyo?" He asked.

She stopped.

"No. He's finally accepted the truth." She said. "Thank god..." She added, under her breath. "By his behaviour of late, he proven that he needs some time to adjust. He knows we're going, if he wants to come after us."  
>"Did you tell him?"<p>

She turned to face him.

"No. He's listening to us right now."

Dahlia grabbed Ayato's hand. "Now, come darling. There's an adventure to be had."

Kyo stumbled away from the door.

_But... H-How did she know? How did she know I was...?_

He already knew that Dahlia and Ayato discussed him when they went places.

They made a bad habit of that...

_But... _He thought, _Every time they let, did they know I was there? _Ayato probably wouldn't have guessed. He found someone to look up to, and put all of his faith into them, no matter how blind it was.

If Dahlia said nothing, the thought would have never crossed his mind.

Kyo fell onto Richard's couch.

Even though he had never met him, Kyo still considered this place to b Richard's. It wasn't... Kyo's.

It just didn't suit him.

He curled into a ball, hoping a decent night's sleep would take his mind off of everything...

_Kyo opened his eyes.  
>He was surrounded by grey… Grey and fog.<em>

_There was nothing in this place. It didn't have any form, or even a smell._

_Suddenly, a light shone on either side of him._

_On one side, he saw his old home, and on the other…_

_On the other he saw Dahlia's Eden. _

_He was torn between the two._

_Did he want to go back home, where he had only one person, while the rest hated or pitied him?_

_Or did he want to go to Eden, where no one knew who he truly was?_

"_Hey!" A girl's voice called out to him._

_Kyo turned toward's home to see a girl... It was... It was Her._

_He hadn't seen Her in such a long time…_

"_Kyo! Hey, can you hear me?" She called out._

"_Yeah! I'm coming over!" He tried to call out, but the words got caught in his throat._

_As he stared at Her, he let his mind wander a bit._

_He wanted to be able to hold Her, to love Her._

_And he wanted Her to love him as much as he loved her._

_He ran to where she stood._

"_Finally! I've been calling for, like, forever!" She said, her voice teasing._

"_What were you doing over there?" She asked him. _

_Something behind him caught her eye. "Who are those two?"_

"_What?" Once again, he was unable to make a sound. Instead, he just looked at what she was referring to._

_Where he stood minutes ago was Ayato and Dahlia…_

_But something was… Something was different about them._

_They stepped forward, eerily in sync. _

_One foot in front of the other, they slowly advanced._

_They smiled at him, and their necks cricked to the side. They were like a mirror, as a sick shudder passed through their bodies._

_Out of their smiling mouths came a voice that sounded like ice water being poured down his spine.  
>"Kyo… What are… What are you doing there? Come… Come with… Us. We'll… We'll always… Always be there… For you…" They said.<em>

_Kyo felt terrified. He turned back to Her, unsure of what to do._

_Her eyes were wide with a strange happiness._

"_Who are they Kyo? Friends of yours? I'd like to meet them!" _

_Kyo shook his head. _

"_Why not? You want to keep me to yourself?" She laughed._

_Kyo looked at Her with what he hoped was urgency in his eyes._

"_What? Is there something wrong?"_

_He tried to mime his way through the conversation, trying to get through to her._

_They needed to get away._

"_You… You want to leave?" She asked him, and Kyo nodded frantically._

"_Okay…" She said._

_He offered him her hand to take, as they had used to do._

_She grabbed his wrist, and looked at it for a moment, fingering the beads that had finally found their way back to him._

"_It's funny…"She stared to say._

_He blinked, and in the moment it took to do that, she disappeared. Dahlia was left in her place. _

_Up close, she was even stranger. Her skin was like wax, melting in places and shiny, and her eyes were blood red._

_Kyo looked at her with terror._

"_What's… What's wrong?" Dahlia asked. "Surp…Surprised to… To see me?"_

_He tried to pull his hand away, but she was terribly strong. _

"_Where you going?" She pulled him close to her face._

"_It's… It's funny, you… You know." She said, her breath stank as it blew into his nose._

"_You… Trust… Blindly." She said, with a hint of irony._

_As she said the words, she pushed him back, ripping the beads from his arm._

_As they clattered to the floor, he felt the burning sensation in his joints, as his muscles stretched and his bones grew. _

_His skin turned colour and he could feel the heated stench coming off him._

_It all happened so fast, and in a second, he was the all-too-familiar monster…_

"_Disgusting." Dahlia spat. "Ayato, bring the bitch around front." She ordered._

_Ayato obeyed, pushing her forward into Dahlia's grasp._

"_See? Your precious… Precious Kyo is… Is nothing but a… A monster!" She said to Her._

_She glared at Dahlia, but she, in a moment of doubt, took a second glance at him. _

_As Kyo held her gaze, it slowly turned to that of horror, as she took in what he truly was._

"_You…!" She tried to yell at Dahlia, but her own doubt caused her to falter._

"_You… You're… You're right…" She said._

_Kyo wanted to scream._

"_He's yours now… I guess." She muttered to Dahlia, and walked away, not even glancing back to say goodbye._

_Dahlia smirked._

"_Perfect."_

_It was at this moment that Ayato decided to scutter up to them._

"_See?" He asked, and Dahlia and Ayato started to speak to him._

"_Even She…"_

"_The one who loved you the most…"_

"_Thinks you're a… A monster."_

"_She hates you…"  
>"She hates you now…"<em>

"_It's your curse…"_

"_To never be…"_

"_Never be loved…"_

"_Never be normal…"_

"_Or welcomed…"_

"_No normal emotions could never…"_

"_Never be applied to…"  
>"Something like you…"<em>

"_Only Hate…"_

"_Only Pity…"  
>"Only Disgust…"<em>

_They both smiled._

"_Would you like us to… To help with that?" Dahlia drawled._

_There was a murderous glint in their eyes._

_Kyo tried to run, but they soon overtook him, and the foggy world went black._

Dahlia sponged Kyo's forehead with a damp cloth. She had heard him call out when she went to check on him.

He been sweating and thrashing, but she ignored it.

It was simply a nightmare.

But then… He called out her name.

_Me?_ She thought. _Why would he?_

A terrible thought crossed her mind.

Is he calling out to me or am I…

She was scared of what the answer was.

If, in his dream, she was the focus of the terror, what could that mean?

Dahlia wasn't sure she wanted to know.

She knelt next to him, not wanting to shock him out of his dream again. She wanted to let it play out, in case something might change.

After a few minutes, he shot up, his eyes wild and panting.

Her looked around frantically, and his gaze rested on her, and he looked lost for a minute, as if he was trying to remember who she was.

All of a sudden, her murmured "No…"

"What?" She asked him.

"No! Go… Go away! G-get out of here!" He shouted.

She felt hurt.

"Leave me alone!"

"Shhh." Dahlia tried to sooth him. "It's all right. It was just a dream."

"Why? Why would you show her?"

"Just a dream…"  
>"Why did you do it?"<p>

"Shhh…"

"Why her? WHY HER?" Tears rolled down his cheeks as he sobbed out the last words.

Her heart ached for him. _Poor baby…_

She hugged him tightly to her chest.

"It's alright, Kyo… I'm not going to hurt you, sweetheart."

"Why her?"

"I'm not going to hurt you again."

She held him until he slept peacefully again.

It had been a few days over a week since Dahlia had forced Kyo to live with them.

Ayato still didn't know what had brought it on.

The day before, she was quite content with leaving him his own space to hide in, and then the next, she was keeping him closer to protect the sanity of everyone.

Ayato pushed that issue out of his mind, and sprawled out on his bed. His sheets were different now, the walls were still green, and now the ceiling was deep indigo.

It looked like the night sky.

He had no idea how it got to be like this, however.

Ayato had to admit that he felt so much more comfortable in the room now.

And there were pictures of his Battlefront friends.

He found that the tan before was far too bland for his taste, but he never did ask Dahlia what had happened to change that.

Ayato found that he also didn't care all that much.

Dahlia had somehow completely removed Richard's apartment, creating more kitchen space, and an extra bedroom/bathroom set.

Kyo had no choice but to live with them.

When Ayato had first seen Kyo's room, it looked just like his originally had…

He hadn't seen it since then, and it was making him curious.

_Kyo is getting along better now…_Dahlia thought.

She had been fussing over him like a toddler since she had changed to top floor.

Dahlia even thought that Ayato was more than a little bit jealous over Kyo's new treatment.

When they had first met, Dahlia had wrongfully pegged Kyo as a complete ass, though and through, but now that he had seen a different side of him, she knew that he was one of the most emotionally and mentally fragile people she had ever encountered.

He was also a bit kind, too.

Less of a douche bag than she expected.

Mind you, that bar was pretty high…

Ever since she had forced him into closer quarters, he accepted them more and more into his life.

She had had a few people come to visit her, and beforehand, Kyo and Ayato spoke with them.

She had deliberately sent for the people with the worst back-stories who were willing to share them, so Kyo would realise that he wasn't the only one.

He's the worst, by far, though…

Despite all his progress, Kyo was still reserved to everyone. He was relatively friendly with Ayato and her, but not much more.

She had hoped that if she left the two of them alone for a while, the males might bond, or something… But nothing really went according to plan.

She heard someone call her name.

"Dahlia?" It was Kyo's voice.

"In here!" She called back.

He opened her door. "What are you doing?"

She pushed away her hyacinths.

"Arranging flowers."

"Why?"  
>"Why what?"<p>

Kyo sighed. He hated this game.

"Why are you arranging flowers?"  
>"Oh!" She said. "Because I can. Duh."<p>

Dahlia thought that the answer should have been obvious by now.

"Okay then…" He muttered.

"So, what did you want again?"

Ayato, hearing them speak, walked in.

"Hello." He said.

"Hi!" Dahlia greeted him, while Kyo gave him a nod.

"What are you doing?" Ayato asked, but when Dahlia was about to answer, Kyo cut in.

"Arranging flowers. Because she can." He wanted to be spared of the game a second time.

"Ah." Ayato said, understanding.

"Anyway." Kyo said. "Where the hell did you get this?" He held up a photograph of a tallish girl with kind eyes and dark hair tied behind her back.

"If it was in your room, it was you." She said, thinking of a place to put a rose.

"I don't think so."

"I'm pretty sure it was."

"I think I would remember putting this, or even having this, anywhere."

"I never said you had it."

"You just did!"

"No. I said it was you."

"What's the difference?"

"It wasn't a conscious decision."

"What?"

"It's an image of a memory."  
>Kyo looked dumbstruck.<p>

"How-?"  
>"It's a design I came up with. It monitors memory, wants, need and such, and inputs them onto a black file, that is, a plain room. It slowly alters the space in the room to match up with the owner's preferences. It helps tenants feel more comfortable, but, naturally I monitor everything so no one gets too nervous breakdown-y." She explained.<p>

"Okay…" Kyo said, staring at the picture.

Ayato's eyes brightened.

"So that why my room looks like that! But… Why don't I recognise it?"

"It's from you. Your last life."

"Oh."  
>"You just don't remember it." She said simply.<p>

They had been watching something on T.V. Dahlia wasn't really paying attention, Kyo was to busy with that picture of the girl, and Ayato was thinking about his past.

"So…" Dahlia said, desperate to start a conversation.

It had been unnervingly quiet for about an hour, other than the sound effects from the television speakers.

She had seemed a bit agitated lately, and Ayato couldn't tell why.

She was shutting herself in her room more and more, forcing Kyo and Ayato to spend time in each other's company, without someone to keep their conversations going.

Ayato wanted Kyo to like him, but the only way Kyo really seemed to like him was when Dahlia was being strange… Which was most of the time they were with her…

With the look on her face, it seemed like she was afraid that Ayato and Kyo felt neglected, or something.

"What have you guys been up to?" She asked.

"Nothing really." Kyo said.

"We talked to some people, and walked around… Hey, is Miriam Cooper an NPC?" Ayato asked her.

"Um… Yes, I think so. Could you tell?"

"Just barely! You did a great job."

"What gave her away?" She asked, curious.

"She was…" Ayato began.

"Obscenely nice." Kyo answered.

"I've known many people like that?"  
>"Really? Here?"<p>

"Nice is a great cover for sad." She explained. "It's a weird defence mechanism. You two have never met anyone like that?"  
>"Only normal and crazy."<p>

"Same."

"Huh…" Dahlia mused.

They returned to the show, but lost interest quickly.

It wasn't until Ayato asked a question that the conversation started up again.


End file.
